Ahead of Bengal panchayat polls, Nandigram largely peaceful but tense

Nandigram, which triggered mass protests that buried the Left in West Bengal, is again engulfed by fear amid ongoing clashes elsewhere ahead of panchayat elections in the state.

Residents of Nandigram, scarred by previous bouts of turmoil, are keeping their fingers tightly crossed as Bengal inches towards the July 8 battle of the ballot in rural areas.

Curiously, Nandigarh, in Purba Medinipur district, is more peaceful this time.

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But Ashok Guria, a veteran leader in Nandigram, said there was an undercurrent of tension often leading to scuffles among TMC workers, renegades of the ruling party and the BJP.

“Although the poll process in Nandigram has been more peaceful compared to 2013 and 2018, there is still a sense of fear among the locals,” Guria, a former CPI (M) leader who is now campaigning for the Congress, told PTI.

Enough of violence

Rabin Pal, whose son is a BJP candidate, said there was apprehension as to what the polling day will bring.

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Pal, who feels the TMC is in a tough spot here, lost two family members during the anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram in 2007.

The BJP has alleged bomb attacks in areas where the party is strong. The TMC denies the charge.

But a few crude bombs were recovered from areas in the last few days.

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After a decade of peace, the village shot back to the limelight when Banerjee’s former protégé Suvendu Adkikari challenged her in the 2021 assembly elections from the constituency – and the TMC chief lost narrowly.

Sabuj Maity, whose house was set on fire both in 2007and 2021, is not taking part in any political rally this time.

“Sporadic violence has escalated since Suvendu Adhikari’s shift to the BJP (in 2020). TMC rebels now joining the bandwagon has worsened the situation,” the 49-year-old said.

Peaceful, now

Said Manoj Das, a villager: “Before the poll process started, there were incidents of violence. However, since the announcement of poll dates, the area has been quite peaceful.”

Purba Medinipur Zilla Parishad, under which Nandigram falls, has been a pocket borough of the TMC since 2008 when it first snatched the district from the Left Front. Since then, there has been no looking back for the party.

The Trinamool Congress won the 2013 and 2018 rural polls in the area with massive margins.

In the two blocks of Nandigram, the TMC has decided to put up new faces in 80 per cent of seats, leading to protests by veterans who chose to contest as independents.

Swadesh Adhikari, a former TMC leader who switched to the BJP ahead of the assembly polls, feels the fight in Nandigram is more between TMC nominees and its rebels than between the ruling party and the BJP.

Even as villages like Gokulpur, Gokulnagar, Gopi Mohanpur, and Heria have turned into BJP bastions, Sonachura, Haripur, Khejuri, Brindaban Chak, Daudpur, and Tekhali remain loyal to the TMC.

Sheikh Sufiyan, a TMC leader and deputy chairman of Purba Medinipur Zilla Parishad, alleged that the BJP was trying to disturb the peaceful atmosphere.

(With agency inputs)